DOCSLIB.ORG

Political Imagery and Symbolism in Daniel Owino Misiani‟S Benga Songs

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Political Imagery and Symbolism in Daniel Owino Misiani‟S Benga Songs POLITICAL IMAGERY AND SYMBOLISM IN DANIEL OWINO MISIANI‟S BENGA SONGS BY JOSEPH OMONDI ONYOR A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN LITERATURE, SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES MASENO UNIVERSITY ©2019 i DECLARATION Declaration by Candidate I declare that the work in this dissertation entitled, Political Imagery and Symbolism in Daniel Owino Misiani‟s Benga Songs, has been carried out by me in the Department of Literary Studies. The information derived from the literature has duly been acknowledged in the text and a list of references provided. No part of this thesis was previously presented for another degree or diploma at this or any other institution. Sign……………………… Date ………………………… Joseph Omondi Onyor PG/MA/012/2007 Declaration by Supervisors This thesis has been submitted with our approval as the university supervisors. Sign…………………………… Date………………………… Professor Kitche Magak Department of Literary Studies MASENO UNIVERSITY Sign………………….............. Date………………………… Professor Caleb Okumu Department of Literary Studies MASENO UNIVERSITY ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to acknowledge the invaluable guidance and countless insight of my very competent supervisors Prof. Kitche Magak and the late Professor Caleb Okumu, which facilitated the completion of my research work. I am also indebted to my friends and Maseno University colleagues for their generous support and encouragement. In particular I wish to thank Dr. James Ogone and Mr. Titus Kioko for peer review, challenging conversation and comments on the work. May I also thank Elisha Otieno of Tipo-Tipo Classic Music Studio for giving me free access to his studio of LP records thus allowing me to get into my hand some of Misiani‟s oldest records. iii DEDICATION I dedicate this work to the late Benga Maestro, the Grandfather of Benga, King of History, Daniel Owino Misiani who has inspired this study. I also dedicate this work to my mentor, my late sister, Pamela Atieno Onyor. iv ABSTRACT Misiani was a great musician and pioneer of benga music. He sang about almost about anything and everything, but people remember him for his political songs. He sang when Kenya was still under firm grip of despotic politics of both Kenyatta the first president of Kenya and later Moi and Kibaki the second and third presidents respectively. Fearlessly, Misiani confronts the politics of the day using his music. Despite the fact that his songs were/are loaded with imagery and symbolism, not many scholars have analysed this work from literary perspective. The messages in Misiani‟s political songs are figuratively packaged making him a master of political language; language that is full of metaphors, symbolisms, personification. This study therefore aimed at exploring the imagery and symbolism employed by Misiani in constructing politics in his songs. The objectives were to: determine the extent to which Misiani's socio-cultural background influences the choice and use of symbolism and imagery in his music; evaluate how the repressive and hegemonic Kenyan political past shaped the artistic nature of Misiani‟s music; to examine how imagery and symbolism construct the theme of politics in Misiani's songs. The study used concepts from reader response theory where the primary focus falls on the reader and the process of reading rather than on the author or the text. The study also used concepts taken from the political analysis of the Italian Marxists Antonio Gramsci, on the development of the theory of hegemony. It sees music as popular culture, which is a site of struggle between the forces of resistance of subordinate groups, and the forces of incorporation of dominant groups in the society. This study adopted the descriptive research design. The study used purposive sampling technique to select information rich texts among Misiani‟s songs. The study sampled out 35 songs. The lyrics of the songs were transcribed, translated into English and then analyzed using textual analysis approach in relation to the objectives of the study. This study found out and confirmed the literariness of Misiani‟s music. The study found that Misiani uses imagery and symbolism to address the politics of Kenya. v TABLE OF CONTENTS TITE PAGE……………………………………………………………………………………..…i DECLARATION ............................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... vi DEFINITION OF TERMS……………………………………………………………………….ix CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background to the Study ........................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 D.O. Misiani and Benga Music.............................................................................................. 1 1.1.2 Symbolism and Imagery ........................................................................................................ 3 1.1.3 Music and Literature .............................................................................................................. 4 1.2 Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Research Questions ................................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Research Objectives ................................................................................................................. 7 1.5 Scope of the Study .................................................................................................................... 7 1.6 Justification ............................................................................................................................... 7 1.7 Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 12 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 12 2.2 Popular Culture, the Realm of Political Resistance ................................................................ 12 2.3 Song and Politics ................................................................................................................... 16 2.4 Misiani and Political Dispensation ......................................................................................... 19 2.5 Kenya Politics and Luo Politics .............................................................................................. 20 2.6 Mainstream Culture and Music ............................................................................................... 22 2.7 Exploitation of Imagery and Symbolism ................................................................................ 24 2.8 The Conception Framework ................................................................................................... 26 2.9 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 28 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................. 29 3.1 Research Methodology ........................................................................................................... 29 3.2 Research Design...................................................................................................................... 29 3.3 Study Population ..................................................................................................................... 29 3.4 Sampling Strategy and Sample Size ....................................................................................... 30 vi 3.5 Data Collection Method .......................................................................................................... 30 3.6 Analysis and Presentation ....................................................................................................... 31 3.7 Ethical Consideration .............................................................................................................. 31 3.8 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 31 CHAPTERFOUR: SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT OF THE SONGS .............................. 32 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 32 4.2 Migration................................................................................................................................. 32 4.2.1 Naming: Ethnosystematics................................................................................................... 34
Load more

Recommended publications
  • NEW TOOLS for China's Counterfeit Crackdown HOUNDING OUT
    GENEVA – FEBRUARY 2008 Special Edition for the Fourth Global Congress on Counterfeiting and Piracy 6 NEW TOOLS For China’s Counterfeit Crackdown 16 TALKING COPYRIGHT From Rags to Reggae 25 HOUNDING OUT PIRACY WIPO PUBLICATIONS The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights: A Case Book By LTC Harms, published in 2005 English No. 791E 70 Swiss francs (plus shipping and handling) An analysis of selected court decisions drawn from countries with a common law tradition. The case book illustrates different areas of IP law, focusing on matters that typically arise in connection with civil and criminal proceedings involving IP rights. L’Application des droits de propriété intellectuelle: Recueil de jurisprudence By M-F Marais, T Lachacinski French No. 626F 65 Swiss francs (plus shipping and handling) This new case book analyses IP-related court decisions in France and other countries with a civil law tradition. A valuable guide to the enforcement of IP rights for judges, lawyers and other practitioners from French-speaking developing countries. The WIPO Guide to Intellectual Property Outreach Published in 2007 English No. 1002E Free of charge The Guide offers a structure for planning IP-related awareness raising campaigns, including anti-piracy and counterfeiting campaigns. Learn from the Past, Create the Future: the Arts and Copyright Published in 2007 English No. 935E Free of charge Equipping young people with a sound knowledge and understanding of IP is critical to developing a positive IP culture for future generations. This is the second in WIPO’s series of classroom books for ages 8 – 14. Purchase publications online: www.wipo.int/ebookshop Download free information products: www.wipo.int/publications/ The above publications may also be obtained from WIPO’s Design, Marketing, and Distribution Section: 34, chemin des Colombettes, P.O.
    [Show full text]
  • Journal of Arts & Humanities
    Journal of Arts & Humanities Volume 07, Issue 11, 2018: 58-67 Article Received: 06-09-2018 Accepted: 02-10-2018 Available Online: 23-11-2018 ISSN: 2167-9045 (Print), 2167-9053 (Online) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18533/journal.v7i10.1491 Pioneering a Pop Musical Idiom: Fifty Years of the Benga Lyrics 1 in Kenya Joseph Muleka2 ABSTRACT Since the fifties, Kenya and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have exchanged cultural practices, particularly music and dance styles and dress fashions. This has mainly been through the artistes who have been crisscrossing between the two countries. So, when the Benga musical style developed in the sixties hitting the roof in the seventies and the eighties, contestations began over whether its source was Kenya or DRC. Indeed, it often happens that after a musical style is established in a primary source, it finds accommodation in other secondary places, which may compete with the originators in appropriating the style, sometimes even becoming more committed to it than the actual primary originators. This then begins to raise debates on the actual origin and/or ownership of the form. In situations where music artistes keep shuttling between the countries or regions like the Kenya and DRC case, the actual origin and/or ownership of a given musical practice can be quite blurred. This is perhaps what could be said about the Benga musical style. This paper attempts to trace the origins of the Benga music to the present in an effort to gain clarity on a debate that has for a long time engaged music pundits and scholars.
    [Show full text]
  • Surrogate Surfaces: a Contextual Interpretive Approach to the Rock Art of Uganda
    SURROGATE SURFACES: A CONTEXTUAL INTERPRETIVE APPROACH TO THE ROCK ART OF UGANDA by Catherine Namono The Rock Art Research Institute Department of Archaeology School of Geography, Archaeology & Environmental Studies University of the Witwatersrand A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2010 i ii Declaration I declare that this is my own unaided work. It is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted before for any other degree or examination in any other university. Signed:……………………………….. Catherine Namono 5th March 2010 iii Dedication To the memory of my beloved mother, Joyce Lucy Epaku Wambwa To my beloved father and friend, Engineer Martin Wangutusi Wambwa To my twin, Phillip Mukhwana Wambwa and Dear sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews iv Acknowledgements There are so many things to be thankful for and so many people to give gratitude to that I will not forget them, but only mention a few. First and foremost, I am grateful to my mentor and supervisor, Associate Professor Benjamin Smith who has had an immense impact on my academic evolution, for guidance on previous drafts and for the insightful discussions that helped direct this study. Smith‘s previous intellectual contribution has been one of the corner stones around which this thesis was built. I extend deep gratitude to Professor David Lewis-Williams for his constant encouragement, the many discussions and comments on parts of this study. His invaluable contribution helped ideas to ferment.
    [Show full text]
  • Popular Music in Kenya:A Survey and Evaluation of Performing Strategies
    POPULAR MUSIC IN KENYA: A SURVEY AND EVALUATION OF PERFORMING STRATEGIES AMONG SELECTED GROUPS IN NAIROBI. BY OYUGI ISAIAH (M.M.Ed.) C82/12026/07 A RESEARCH THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE SCHOOL OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS OF KENYATTA UNIVERSITY 1 OCTOBER 2012 DECLARATION This Thesis is my original work and has not been presented for any degree in any other University. OYUGI ISAIAH (C82/12026/2007) DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC AND DANCE SCHOOL OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS KENYATTA UNIVERSITY Signature__________________________________ Date_____________ This Thesis has been presented for examination with our approval as University Supervisors. DR. HENRY N. WANJALA LECTURER, DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC AND DANCE SCHOOL OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS KENYATTA UNIVERSITY Signature___________________________________ Date______________ DR. TIMOTHY K. NJOORA SENIOR LECTURER, DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC AND DANCE 2 SCHOOL OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS KENYATTA UNIVERSITY Signature_____________________________________ Date______________ 3 DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my loving parents, Lenah Olombo Shilwatso and the late Mzee Jeremiah Olombo, and the extended family of Olombo. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to humbly extend my honest gratitude to individuals and institutions whose valued time and input is reflected in this thesis. I wish to thank Kenyatta University for the wonderful opportunity extended to me to explore and further my scholarship. I sincerely wish to recognize and thank my supervisors Dr. H. Wanjala and Dr. T.K. Njoora for their interest, guidance and dedication to my work. I‟m indebted to them for their many hours of discussions and reading of the numerous editions of my work and for their valuable input that has resulted into this final work.
    [Show full text]
  • Zilizopendwa: an Amalgamation of Music Territories at the Kenya Music Festival
    Kabarak University International Research Conference on Refocusing Music and Other Performing Arts for Sustainable Development Kabarak University, Nakuru, Kenya, 24 th – 26 th October 2018 Zilizopendwa : An Amalgamation of Music Territories at the Kenya Music Festival Nancy Masasabi Maseno University Abstract The Kenya Music Festival has incorporated contemporary African musical genres in the festival under the name adaptation and arrangement of zilizopendwa. Somehow in this context, the genre has become very popular among the youth who are the performers of this musical genre. The purpose of this paper is to identify the original Zilizopendwa musical renditions and compare them with the renditions at the Kenya Music Festival in order to establish how artistic expression has been achieved by the arrangers of this genre and how this context has influenced the development and rendition of the zilizopendwa. To achieve this, I analyse contemporary African popular music in its original context. Likewise, I analyse selected pieces arranged for presentation at the Kenya Music Festival’s national level. Hence, I compare the two to ascertain the developmental process that has ensued. The result unveils the evolution of the popular music genre in Kenya and contributes to the discourse on the evolution and conservation of contemporary African musical forms. Key words: Contemporary African Music, Popular Music, Zilizopendwa , Music Appropriation, Arrangement of African Melodies, Music Festival Introduction There is hardly any musical genre that has remained static in its rendition and characteristic features in the world. This is as a result of the dynamic nature of music as a cultural element. Intercultural exchange of ideas and globalization has impacted on the performance of all musics.
    [Show full text]
  • Sexual Objectification of the Womans Body: an Analysis of Selected Polpular Benga Songs Among the Luo Community, Kenya
    Global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Vol.3, No.6, pp.46-59, June 2015 Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org) SEXUAL OBJECTIFICATION OF THE WOMANS BODY: AN ANALYSIS OF SELECTED POLPULAR BENGA SONGS AMONG THE LUO COMMUNITY, KENYA Otwack Jayne Odhiambo P.O. BOX 884 - 30100, ELDORET, KENYA ABSTRACT: In spite of the educative and entertaining role that songs perform in the society, it is important to note that songs are also deployed to circulate certain stereotypes and ideologies. This paper sought to identify the stereotypic objectification of women in society and man’s claims of sexual prowess. This was guided by an analysis of popular songs among the Luo community based on Benga Music. To guide this critical appraisal, the study employed purposive sampling technique to select appropriate songs by two song artists, Princess Jully and Okatch Biggy. The first woman to make a name for her-self in this style of music is probably Princess Jully; she rose to fame after she took over her husband’s band in the 1990’s. The other song artist Okatch Biggy is known as the Benga Guru of the 1990’s. The study was guided by Symbolic Interactionism and Liberal Feminist Theory. Song texts were collected in VHS, VCD and DVD’s from music stores. Data was transcribed, translated and analyzed through qualitative method. The study is expected to contribute to gender scholarships and provide information for non-governmental organizations, churches and the media to sensitize and censure stereotypical songs. KEYWORDS: Stereotype, Masculinity, Femininity, Objectification, Sexual prowess, Misogyny INTRODUCTION The Luo are a patrilineal Society, therefore reckoning of their descent, inheritance or succession is exclusively or preferentially through males.
    [Show full text]
  • And Their Hold on East Africa's Popular Musical
    The ‘Waswahili’ and Their Hold on East Africa’s Popular Musical Culture By Stanley Gazemba Port cities are melting pots of culture world over. They spur the evolution of new cultures, languages and act as gateways to the world. It is within this context therefore that taarab, a distinct music form that defines East Africa internationally, found fertile ground along the vast coastal strip that was previously the domain of the Sultan of Zanzibar. The East African Coast has had a profound effect on the hinterland in terms of trade and cultural development and is home of the Swahili civilisation that came into strength during the Daybuli period between AD 900 and AD 1200. It is the Swahili who controlled the region’s trade from AD 1200 and bequeathed modern East Africa its lingua franca, the Swahili language and left their mark on the musical cultures of the inland indigenous peoples. A sensuous melodic music deriving from diverse cultures that impacted the coastal culture over the years, taarab easily takes centre-stage in Swahili culture. While it is not necessarily amongst the oldest music forms in the region, given that ethnic groups in the hinterland had been creating music on reed flutes and thumb pianos for generations, taarab is amongst the earliest to be recorded commercially and exported from the region. Performed and recorded for nearly a century now, taarab, which has its origins in the Arab court music of nineteenth-century Zanzibar, owes its development to the political class of Zanzibar. Sultan Said Barghash, who ruled Zanzibar between 1870 and 1888, is credited with introducing taarab to the East African coast and shepherding its growth into the cross-cultural mélange it has become today.
    [Show full text]
  • Open My Dissertation.Pdf
    The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of the Liberal Arts FROM TRICKSTER TO BADMAN TO “GANGSTA”: GLOBALIZING THE BADMAN MYTHOFORM IN HIP-HOP MUSIC A Dissertation in Comparative Literature by Mich Yonah Nyawalo © 2012 Mich Yonah Nyawalo Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2012 The dissertation of Mich Nyawalo was reviewed and approved* by the following: Thomas A. Hale Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of African, French, and Comparative Literature Dissertation Adviser Chair of Committee Sophia A. McClennen Professor of Comparative Literature, Spanish and Women’s Studies Jonathan P. Eburne Associate Professor of Comparative Literature and English Jennifer Boittin Associate Professor of French, Francophone Studies, and History Gabeba Baderoon Associate Professor of Women’s Studies and African Studies Aaron L. Rosenberg Research Professor Centro de Estudios de Asia y África El Colegio de México Special Member Caroline D. Eckhardt Professor of Comparative Literature and English Head of the Department of Comparative Literature *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. ii Abstract While a vast amount of hip-hop scholarship has focused on the proliferation of rap music within contemporary national contexts, little research has been conducted on the ways in which rappers have capitalized transnationally on each other’s national histories and folklore in their music. As a counterpoint to this dominating presentism in current hip-hop scholarship, my project analyzes how the mythological figures of the trickster and the badman, key characters in numerous African-American traditional narratives, have dramatically influenced the modes through which authenticity and notions of communal agency have shaped hip-hop in the United States, France, and Kenya.
    [Show full text]
  • East African Literature: Essays on Written and Oral Traditions. Ed. by J.K.S
    SWAHILI FORUM 19 (2012): i-viii REVIEW East African Literature: Essays on Written and Oral Traditions. Ed. by J.K.S. Ma- kokha, Egara Kabaji and Dominica Dipio. Berlin: Logos Verlag, 2011, 513 pp. ISBN 978-3-8325-2816-4 The collection titled East African literature: Essays on Written and Oral Tradition is not the first contribution of Logos Publishers (Berlin) into criticism on African writing. However, this collection is particularly remarkable, since, as Ali Jimale Ahmed states in the Foreword, “what gives the volume its special contour and gumption is its intention to initiate a new way of reading and amalgamating East African literature and orature” (10). The introduction, written by the team of editors, consists of two parts. The first part sur- veys the latest development in the field of literary criticism in and about East Africa, stating that the region currently undergoes an “on-going cultural reawakening” and naming quite a few newly appeared titles and authors; whereas, the second part is a brief outline of the essays included in the collection. A valuable feature of the volume is that it presents “the insiders‟ view” of the present-day literary situation in the region, since the volume‟s contributors are renowned academics, working in private and public universities in several countries of the region (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Somali, Ethiopia), as well as outside the continent. The variety of approaches used and topics treated by these scholars ensures the coverage of vari- ous aspects of literary situation in the region, together giving the picture of its present state and outlining some perspectives for development.
    [Show full text]
  • Metaphors Used to Portray Masculinity and Feminity in Dholuo Benga Music: a Cognitive Linguistic Approach
    Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-9, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in Metaphors Used To Portray Masculinity And Feminity In Dholuo Benga Music: A Cognitive Linguistic Approach. Awuor E. Quin1 & Anudo N. Cellyne2 1Department of Language and Communication, The Technical University of Kenya 2University of Kabianga. Abstract: So powerful is language that it has the elevated and revered according to the set societal ability to not only annihilate but also restore standards as compared to the degraded lens in which relationships. Through it power relations are the women’s actions and speech are viewed (Okeke, instituted. In Patriarchal societies of which the Luo 2012). This notion is clearly illustrated by Fromkin, nation is part, power relations have the ability to Rodman and Hyams (as cited in Okeke, 2012) conceive and nourish a sexist culture and a sexist typified discrimination against women in which they language by extension. In sexist cultures, negative quote Graham’s funny analogy: representations of women are common place in If a woman is swept off a ship into the water, varied discourses. In such conversations, women are the cry is man overboard. If she is killed by a degraded, subjugated, demeaned and adulterated. hit- and-run driver, the charge is They are also subjected to hostility especially in manslaughter. If she is injured on the job, the social discourse. The other gender on the other coverage is workmen’s compensation. But if hand, is portrayed as superior, dominant, powerful she arrives on the threshold marked ‘Men and is therefore elevated.
    [Show full text]
  • Kenya Orientation Manual
    Orientation Manual | Kenya Page 1 | June 2018 1. Country Information Full Name of Country Republic of Kenya Population Kenya is home to 45,925,301 people (Jun 2015 est.). The median age is 19.1 years, with a life expectancy of 63.77 years. Out of every 1,000 infants born, 39.38 die. Time Zone The time in Nairobi is UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC) Capital Nairobi Major Languages Swahili and English are the two national languages, Regional languages include Kikuyu, Luhya, Luo Major Religions Christian 82.5% (Protestant 47.4%, Catholic 23.3%, other 11.8%), Muslim (11.1%), indigenous beliefs (10%), other 2%. President’s Name Uhuru Kenyatta Main exports Tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement, apparel Weather & Climate The climate in Kenya varies from tropical along the coast to arid in the interior. The rainy season of the year in Kenya March – May and the dry season in January & February as well as July – October, leaving the rest of the year to have short rain falls. Geography Kenya is in Eastern Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the northeast, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan to the northwest, with the Indian Ocean running along the southeast border. The Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa. Kenya’s unique physical geography supports abundant and varied wildlife of scientific and economic value. It is also an extremely beautiful country, regarded by many as “the jewel of East Africa”.
    [Show full text]
  • Print This Article
    European Journal of Literature, Language and Linguistics Studies ISSN: 2559 - 7194 ISSN-L: 2501 - 7194 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/lit doi: 10.5281/zenodo.1095562 Volume 1 │ Issue 2 │ 2017 CELEBRATING ACCERELATED DEVELOPMENT VIA THE MOTHERTONGUE: THE CASE OF VERNACULAR MASS MEDIA IN KENYA Kiliku M. Patricki Lecturer and Chair, Department of Linguistics Media and Communication, South Eastern Kenya University, Kenya Abstract: There exists abundant literature that confirms the importance of Mother tongues in their speaker’s lives in general and development in particular (Djite, 2008; Kiliku 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014; Kembo 1994, 1996). In Africa, specifically, research is awash on how these languages are crucial in any meaningful development (Bamgbose, 2004, 2011; Batibo 2005, 2015; Djite 1993). Further, this research points to the argument, that I agree with, that the ‘African stunted development’ is, in fact, partly a consequence of the poor management (defined in its broadest terms) of these languages. Indeed, some scholars are more candid in their position that Africa will only truly develop when its indigenous Mother tongues will be allowed to play their rightful part in the core lives of their speakers viz Education, Health, literacy, governance, media and communication, public participation and identity reproduction Alidou, et al 2006; Heugh 2006; Kamwendo, 2009; SIL International 2008; Olwabi, 2013). Undoubtedly, there are evident gains in the use of these languages, though relatively in different domains and areas with varying degrees of success and accompanying challenges. One of these areas is the media (Orao, 2008; Siangu et al, 2014). On the heels of the theme of this conference, this paper argues that Kenyan media that uses MTs has in the last two decades achieved developments worth celebration and encouragement.
    [Show full text]